Hi, I am Alex Dawson - a design leader based in London.

I've been designing since 2007, though I didn't exactly plan it that way. Working in customer service I found myself managing a CMS, running Google Ads, making banners - and realising I was better at that than answering phones. Nobody taught me. I just kept going until it became a career.

Before that I'd been a carpenter, a chef, worked in retail and call centres. Jobs that are all fundamentally about understanding what someone needs and either making it or fixing it. That instinct runs through everything I do now.

Nearly two decades later, I lead product design at Nando's. Before that: Sainsbury's, William Hill, Sofar Sounds, Worldpay, Paddy Power - platforms serving hundreds of millions of people. I've built design functions from scratch, led teams, and along the way picked up a few recognitions including EGR Innovation of the Year and Best Tablet App at the Mobile Gaming & Gambling Awards.

What I care about most isn't method - it's whether design is actually influencing where a product is going, not just decorating decisions that have already been made. The work I'm proudest of is the work where I had to make the case, change a stakeholder's mind, or stop a team from shipping the wrong thing faster.

I'm at my best in organisations that want design at the table early - not as a service function, but as a strategic one.

If that sounds like what you're looking for, let’s talk.